The First Performance of ‘Silent Night’
A recital took place at the church of St Nicholas in Oberndorf in Salzburg, on the evening of 24 December 1818.
Volume 70 Issue 12 December 2020
‘Manless Climbing’
Breaking into the masculine public sphere of the interwar years.
Geopolitical Realities
The depth of China’s influence over South-East Asia.
An Outbreak of Heartbreak
‘Crazy Jane’ was ubiquitous in the late 18th century, the archetypal figure of those driven mad by heartbreak. Was the plight of the love sick a performance or a pandemic?
The Prehistoric Horses of Lascaux
What’s the meaning of the galloping herds painted on the walls of Lascaux’s cave system?
‘Agent Sonya’ by Ben Macintyre review
Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy by Ben Macintyre punctures the myths surrounding Russian spy Ursula Kuczynski
Father Figure
A 17th-century depiction of Joseph and Jesus marks a shift in the status of the nuclear family.
Was Thomas Becket a Saint or a Troublemaker?
Four historians consider the reputation of Henry II’s ‘turbulent priest’. Was Thomas Becket’s martyrdom his redeeming feature?
Beneath the Bombs
Understanding the immediacy and confusion of the Blitz.
Flannelled Fools
A history of sport in England hits a six.